Machine for treating wire



Feb. 8 ,1 7-

B. F. STEEL ET AL MAQHINE FOR TREATING WIRE Filed July 15. 1922 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS MD A Patented Feb. 8, 1927.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STEEL, OF EAST ORANGE, AND HARRY DANIEL KELLY, F BLOOMIIEL'D, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO WESTINGHOUSE LAMB COMPANY, A

CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

macnmn non TREATING WIRE.

Application filed July 13, 1922. Serial No. 574,615.

to machines employed for berating various.

sizes of wires for use in the manufacture of incandescent electric lamps.

An object of the invention is" to expedite the coating of wire in an economic and efficient manner.

Another object is to provide a machine in which wire may be given an automatic continuous treatment.

A further object is to provide a machine adapted to coat a plurality of wires simultaneously or to coat such wires singly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon a reading of the following description.

Although our invention may be employed for the treatment of various kinds of wires it is described and illustrated as operating to treat a copper clad wire such as used as electric current conductors in incandescent electric lamps. Conductors of the above character are generally sealed into a lamp and it has been found that a more eflicient union of the wire and glass is produced when the wire has been given a treatment consisting of heating and immersion in a borax solution, acoating of borax being thus deposited on the wire. This coating promotes, the'wetting of the wire by the plastic glass and tends to produce an efiicient union.

-Machines' for coating a wire by immersion in a'bath have heretofore been so constructed that an excessive amount of floor space was required and constant expert at,-

tention on the part of an operator was necessary in order to keep the apparatus incontinuous operation.

The present invention provides amachinewhich multiplies the number of linea'lfeet I per minute that may be treated and per.-.

forms its functions automatically with a minimum amount of attention from an oper: ator and with the utilization ofa relatively smalLamount of floorspace. urthermore, the machine is so constructed that consider able saving in fuel is attained, it being possible to employ a single burner in place of the two separate burners that have here-- tofore been necessary. The number of elementsnecessary to construct the apparatus has also been reduced, with a consequent reheat during the pre-heatin duction in the initial cost and in the cost of maintenance.

Our invention also provides for the uniform and continuous travel of the wire and for the uniform and even distribution of and subsequent drying operations, with the result that a more eflicient and evenly distributed coating is obtained' The embodiment of our invention shown and described comprises a wire-coating apparatus -which preferably comprises four separately operable devices, each of which may be independentlyactuated to draw a wire from a spool over a burner for preheating and into a solution for coating, thence over aburner again for a baking operation, means being provided to finally receive 'the wire. Two or more of the de-' vices may operate to immerse a wire in a single tank and all of the devices are preferably driven from a single source of power and may be simultaneously operated to proanisms being provided whereby either of.

the devices may be disengaged from the main drive and its operation terminated while the remaining units may be continu ously driven.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the positions of the various operative parts of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a side view, in elevation,of the machine, partly in'section to show the-burners; I

Fig. 3is a view, in elevation, of aduplex winding head, partly in section to show the spool bearings; i p I 1 Fig. 4 is an end view, in elevation, of the structure shownin Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view 'of a chuck which controls the winding spools of the head shown in Fig. 3 and is shown partly-broken awayto disclose the clutch; Fig. V6 is a sectional .view of a tank which may containa wire-treating solution and also able support; 'and,

Fig.7 is a sectional view taken online over the heating element.

ice

YII VII of Fig. 2, enlarged, and illus- *tratesjthe position of the wires as they pass The machine may include a table 11 having mounted thereon one or more winders or winding heads for winding wire. In the present embodiment of the invention, two winding heads are employed and each is designated, as a whole, by the numeral 12. The operation and construction of these heads will be hereinafter more fully described.

Mounted on the table 11, in an operative relation to each of the winding-heads, is a bracket/13 having a bearing in which a spindle 14 is journaled. The spindles 14 have feed rollers or spools 15 rotatably positioned thereon. The rollers may be removable and carry the wire which is to be treated. The wires driven by the left-hand Winding-head are indicated by the numeral 16, and the wires driven by the right-hand head are indicated by the numeral 16.

Suitably positioned on the table 11 with respect to the winding-heads is a tank or container 17 which may contain a solution in which the wire is to be immersed for treatment. It is desirable to heat the wire previous to its entrance into the solution and for this purpose, heat zones are created by means of burners 18 disposed within trough-shaped casings 19. The casings or ovens are secured to posts 21 and 22 having bolts 23 and 24 movable in slots 25 and 26 suitably positioned in the respective posts. Thus, a vertical adjustment of the oven. may be had. It is also desirable to heat the solution and, for this purpose, a burner 27 .is provided. The burners may be of the Bunsen type and be connected to any suitable source of fuel by a conduit 28, and handoperated valves 29 and 31 may be provided for controlling the supply of fuel. Suitable levers 32 and 33 for manipulating the valves may be conveniently located above the surface of the table 11. The pilot lights 28,

29' and 30 may be provided for lightin'g the.

burners after a complete or partial shutdown of the machine.

After the wire 17 leaves the spool 15 of the winding-head at the left-hand end of the machine, it is moved in the directions indicated by the, arrows and passes over a sheave 34, mounted on a suitable support, and through the heat zone created by the burner 18, thence in the groove of a guide or idler 36 and around a pulley 37. Tts path of movement is thus reversed, and it then'takes an opposite course of travel and again passes through the heat zone created by the burner 18, for a drying operation, then over a sheave 38 which is spaced away fromthe sheave 34, as indicated in Fig. 1'. Another idler 36 and a pulley 37" are provided to reverse the direction of movement of another wire driven by the windingrhead at the opposite end of the machine. wire is, therefore, maintained in spaced recarriers 46.

The 4 the portion 41 of the bracket 39.

lation throughout its movement through the heat zone. It will be noted that the angular disposition of the idler 36 and the pulley 37 provide for the spacing of the wire as it leaves and'enters the tank and that the relative positions of the idler36, pulley 37 and the sheaves 34 and 38 serve to maintain the sections of wire in a common plane.

The idlers and pulleys are carried on a bracket 39 which is suitably secured to the table 11 (see Fig. 6). This bracket is provided with an overhung portion 41 having slots 42 in which are positioned bolts 43 having winged nuts 44 at their exposed ends and suitably proportioned heads 45 at the other ends. The heads are positioned for frictional engagement with one side of the portion 41. The bolts 43 pass through carriers 46 which comprise a pair of depending and independently adjustable bearings 47 and 48. One of the carriers supports the idler 36 and the pulley 37 and the other carrier supports the idler 36 and the pu1- ley 37'. These bearings 47 and 48 are disposed in dilferent planes, and the pulley 37 serves as a means for reversing the direction of movement of the wire 17 while the pulley 36' serves the same purpose for the wire 16 which may be driven by another winding device.

The idler 36 and the idler 36' are rotatable about pins 49 secured in forked members 51. These members extend through arms 52 positioned at' opposite sides of the The members 51 are suitably secured in the arms by set screws 53. The arms 52 are split and ma be clamped to properly disposed rods 54 integral with the carriers 46. By loosening the screws 53, the members 51 may be adjusted to vary the distance between the transverse axes of the idlers and the pulleys or by a movement of the arms 52 along the rods 54; the idlers and the pulleys may be disposed in a variety of different inclined planes. By an adjustment of the idlers 36 and 36 the wire may beled through the solution in a shorter or longer path. This is evident from the fact that a variation in the positions of the idlers changes their spaced relation with the respective reversing pulleys 37 and 38.

In practice, it is often necessary to rethread the wire over the pulleys, as, for instance, in the event that a Wire should break during treatment. ience and loss of time has resulted hereto fore, as it has been necessary to remove the solution or perform this tedious operation of threading the wire overthe pulley while in the solution.

In the present invention, in the event of a Wire breaking, the winged nut 44 may be loosened and a carrier. as 46. slid up on A handle 55 is provided On each carrier for the con- Considerable inconvenvenient manipulation of the carrier. The idlers and pulleys thus being removable from the solution, the wire may be .readily led thereover and the carrier again moved to position the pulleys and idlers within the solution.

After leaving the sheave 38, the wire 16 encircles a driving pulley 56 in a bight (see Fig. 3). This pulley is driven by means to be hereinafter described and serves to maintain uniform the speed of movement of the wire. The driving pulleys constitute component parts of the winding-heads which may include a bracket 57 suitably secured to the table 11 b bolts 58. These winding heads are of a uplex character and operate receiving spools 59 and 61.

The present invention employs two suc heads and, since their parts and operations are similar, a description of one will answer for both.

The spools 59 and 61 are mounted. on shafts 62 and 63 journaled in bearings 64 and 65'integral with the bracket 57 Each shaft has secured thereto, a sleeve 66, and the driving pulleys 56 are, in turn, secured to the sleeves. The spools 59 and 61, upon whichthe wire is wound after treatment, are frictionally secured to the sleeves 66 by means of helical springs 67 disposed about the sleeves and between, and in contact with,

lock nuts 68 and ends of the spools, which are loosely mounted on a bushing 69 to run free or be frictionally connected to the sleeve 66. By this frictional engagement, the

spools may slip to compensate for the variation in their relative speed as their effective.

diameter changes during the accumulation of wire thereon.

Each winding head is adapted to permit the rotation of the spools 59 and 61 either simultaneous y or individually, and,- for this purpose, a double-clutch mechanism is provided. This clutch mechanism is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 5 and includes an annulus 71 loosely fitted upon, and spanning, the abutting ends of shafts 62 and '63. Journaled upon the annulus 71 is a chain sheave 72. Contiguous with the sheave and secured to the shafts 62 and 63 are disposed collars .73 and 74 to prevent longitudinal movement of the sheave 72 which may, therefore, run free about the shafts. For the pur ose of driving either or both of the sha s, the sheave is provided with a plurality of spaced pins 7 5' which project on each side thereof and are disposed in circular formation. Each shaft has mounted thereon a grooved sliding collar 7 6 having one of its ends which -is adjacent the sheave 72 notched for the reception of the projecting ends of the pins' 5 The collar may be moved into or away from 'engagement with sheave 72, suitable keys 77 being provided (0 prevent rotation As indicated in Fig. 2, the force for driving the various parts of'the device is derived from a motor 81 provided with any suitable form of reduction drive 82; Chain sprockets, one of which is indicated by the reference numeral 83, may be provided, and the winding device at the left hand side of the machine may be driven by means including chain 84 which drives a sheave 85 carried on a counter-shaft 86 secured in a bearing 87 fastened to the underside of the table 11. The counter-shaft 86 may also be provided with an additional sheave over which an endless chain 88 is led and which may extend over a guide sheave 89 and thence over 'the chain sheave'72 of the clutch and over an additional guide "sheave 91. The winding device at the right of the machine is driven by similar connections.

Referring again to one of the windingheads (see Fig. 3) it is shown that, after the -wire leaves the driving pulley 56, it may pass over. a guide-pulley92 and thence over a reciprocative pulley 93 and onto spool 59 or spool 61. The guide pulleys 93 are carried on shafts 94 which are off-set from, and connected to, a reci rocating. shaft 95. The shaft 95 is reciproc ted by means of its connection to a cam follower 96 disposed in a double-cam-surface wheel 97. "The cam followeris secured to an arm 98 which is fastimed to the shaft 95. Reciprocation of the shaft is .producedby rotation of the wheel 97 which is fastened to a shaft 99 provided with a worm wheel 101 disposed in mesh with a worm 102. Theworm 102 is secured to a vertical shaft 103 suitably journaled'in a bearing in the table 11. The shaft extends downwardly and has-secured at the lower end thereof, a bevel gear .104 (see Fig. 2)

in mesh with a bevel gear 105 secured to a transverse shaft 106 suitably. journaled in bearings of a bracket 100 secured to the table 11.

ing a chain sheave 107 secured thereto which is, in turn, driven by an endless chain 108 which engages a suitable sheave fastened ,to the counter-shaft 86; Motion is thereby translated to the reciprocating pulley 93.

In operation, considering one operative The shaft 106 is driven by means comprisportion of the machine, a spool of wire is mounted on the bracket 13 and the wire is led over the ShQEVGBl: and through the heatzone and thence around the idler 36, around the pulley 37, back through the heat zone; over the pulley 38 and thence around the driving pulley 56, over the idler 92 and over the reciprocating pulley 93 from whence it is guided for uniform disposition upon spool '59 or spool 61.

Upon an inspection of Fig. 1, it will be observed that although four different spools of wire may be treated, only two tanks for the baths are required and that only two winding devices are necessary. Furthermore, a single heat zone suflices for the pre heating and final heating or drying the wire. By this arrangement of the various operative parts of the present machine, increased output, greater uniformity of product and economy of floor space are attained.

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein, it is obvious that many other modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: v

1. A machine for coating wire comprising a support for a spool of wire, a tank having a solution therein, a reversing pulley adjustably supported and immersed in said solution to receive and reverse the direction of 'movement of said wire and adjustable means to guide the wire over said reversing pulley, said means being adapted to guide the moving wire in a longer or shorter path through said solutiom 2. A machine for coating wire comprising a support for a spool of wire, a tank having a solution therein, a reversing pulley adjustably supported and immersed in said solution to receive and reverse the direction of movement of said wire, an idler pulley adjustably disposed to guide the Wire over said reversing pulley, said idler pulley being adapted to guide the moving wire in a longer or shorter path through said solution.

3. A machine for coating wire comprising supports ,for a plurality, of spools of wire, a tank having a solution therein, means for moving wires from spools held on said supports, a plurality of reversing pulleys iminersed in said solution, a common support for said pulleys, means for adjusting the position of said support Within said tank, guides arranged to direct wire passing into said solution and to said reversing pulleys, means for adjusting the guides to vary the lengths of the paths of travel of the wires through said solution.

4. A machine for coating wire comprising a plurality of supports for spools-of wire, winding mechanisms disposed adjacent to each of said supports, a tank having a solution therein, a plurality of heating elements positioned adjacent to said tank, wire reversing members mounted on an adjustable support and immersed in said solution, means for guiding wire over said heating elements to said reversing members, means for guiding wire in a reverse direction over said heating elements and means disposed adjacent to said reversing members for guiding the wires into and out from said solution and said last mentioned means being adjustable to change the path of movement of said Wires.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names this 12th day of July, 1922.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STEEL. HARRY DANIEL KELLY. 

